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Sparks Fly
Sparks Fly is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift for her third studio album Speak Now (2010). It was written and produced by Swift, with additional production helmed by Nathan Chapman. Swift wrote the song when she was 16 years old, prior to the release of her debut single "Tim McGraw" in 2006. Following a 2007 live performance of the song, "Sparks Fly" grew in popularity among Swift's fanbase. While Speak Now was under production, she received requests from fans to include the song on the album. The song was serviced to country radio in the United States by Big Machine Records on June 18, 2011, as the fifth single from Speak Now. A CD single was released on Swift's official store for a limited time on August 10, 2011. "Sparks Fly" received generally positive reviews by music critics, who praised it for its upbeat tempo. Others praised Swift's lyrics of the song and have claimed that the song is a crossover between country and pop. Following the release of Speak Now, the song debuted at number 17 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and at number 28 on the Canadian Hot 100, due to strong digital sales. After the song was released as a single, it re-entered the US Billboard Hot 100 at 84. It peaked at number one at the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for sales of over 1,000,000 copies. "Sparks Fly" was used as the opening song for the Speak Now World Tour (2011–12). A music video for the song was released, featuring clips of various performances during the Speak Now World Tour. Commercial performance Following the release of Speak Now, on November 4, 2010, "Sparks Fly" debuted at number 17 on the Billboard Hot 100 due to strong digital sales of 113,000 downloads making it one of the songs to make Swift the first act to have ten songs debut on the Billboard Hot 100 in the same week. With the addition of "Mine", Swift had a total of 11 songs charting in one week, making Swift the female act to have the most songs charting on the Billboard Hot 100 in the same week. The song made a Hot Shot Debut on the Hot Country Songs at number 49. Billboard included the song in their Five Potential Pop Hits for 2011 list. The song jumped from 39 and settled on 31 on the Hot Country Songs on the week ending August 6, 2011. After its single release, the song re-entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 84 on the week ending August 27, 2011. On the week ending October 8, 2011 the song jumped from 13 to 10 on the Hot Country Songs. The song has peaked at number 24 on the Billboard Radio Songs Chart. It peaked at number one on the Hot Country Songs in the week of November 26, 2011. The song became Swift's first single in two years to reach atop the aforesaid chart since "You Belong with Me" in 2009. On November 29, 2011, the song was certified Gold by the RIAA. The song was number 37 on the 2011 year-end chart of Hot Country Songs. As of August 2012, "Sparks Fly" has sold over a million copies in the United States. In Canada, "Sparks Fly" debuted at 28 on the week of November 13, 2010. "Sparks Fly" was nominated for "Favorite Song" on the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards 2012. The song won the award for "Choice Music: Country Song" on 2012 Teen Choice Awards.